Chapter 274: Responsible
Although Jiang Shu has a unique vision and a talent for business, he is still young, and the shopkeepers are worried.
Jiang's father, who has been in business for many years, has always been stable, and Jiang Shu's move is too bold. Jiang's father pondered for a long time.
"Listen to the princess." In the end, Jiang's father still chose to believe Jiang Shu.
Even if everything goes as usual this year, the stockpiled goods can only be sold at a low price at most, and the loss will not be too great.
On the contrary, if it is really as Jiang Shu predicted, then Jiang's will definitely make a lot of money and become the top business in Shangjing.
This is a gamble.
The shopkeepers are worried, but the two bosses have made up their minds, so they can only do it.
Last year, there were good harvests in various places, and the surplus was quite abundant. But recently, the court has been raising grain on a large scale, causing all the major grain stores in Shangjing to be sold out, and the price of grain is showing a potential upward trend. On
April 16, Zhou Boxu set out with the second batch of money and grain.
The journey to Duanzhou is long,
and it will take more than a month to go back and forth. And there is only more than a month left for his wedding with Yu Lan.
The day before the departure, Yu Lan met Zhou Boxu at the princess's mansion.
"You must come back quickly and safely." Yu Lan choked up and ordered.
She had never left Shangjing, so she didn't know what the outside world was like, but she also knew that this trip would be full of dangers.
Bandits and robbers, accidents, and all in all, this trip would not be smooth.
Zhou Boxu reached out and held her in his arms, saying slowly: "Don't worry, it's just escorting money and food, it's not as dangerous as you think, I will definitely be back before the wedding."
"Yeah." Yu Lan hugged Zhou Boxu's waist, her eyes moist.
Although she was worried and reluctant, she also understood that this was an unshirkable responsibility.
"Wait for me."
These two words left by Zhou Boxu became Yu Lan's daily hope.
After Zhou Boxu left, the Ministry of Rites began to prepare for the wedding.
Due to the disaster in Duanzhou, the people suffered, and the treasury spent a lot, the originally planned grand wedding was changed to a simple one.
Yu Lan didn't care about this, she just hoped that Zhou Boxu could return safely as scheduled.
On April 20th, a fire broke out in the Li Mansion in the north of the city at night. The whole mansion was burned to ashes, leaving no one alive.
This was a big deal, but everyone's attention was focused on Duanzhou, so it did not cause much commotion. After the government inspected the case, they found nothing strange and hastily closed the case as an accidental fire.
Late at night, Li Xu said goodbye to his family outside the city and watched his family get on a carriage and leave.
The night was dark and the carriage soon disappeared.
Li Xu turned around heavily and followed Zhuiyun back to the alley in the west of the city to collect evidence of Cao Qian's gangsters.
The capital was still bustling and prosperous during the day, and the disaster in Duanzhou became a topic of conversation for the people after dinner.
She lamented for the people of Duanzhou, but was also glad that she lived in Shangjing. Finally, she praised the crown prince Renming for personally coming to Duanzhou to provide disaster relief, which was a blessing for the people of Dazhao.
On April 25, when Shen Changze escorted the third batch of money and grain out of Beijing, the court received another urgent report.
Duanzhou had already been hit by an epidemic.
Calculating the time, Yu Cheng had just arrived in Duanzhou.
Cao Qian and the queen were extremely anxious, fearing that Yu Cheng would be infected with the epidemic. They wrote a letter overnight and sent it to Duanzhou by express horse, urging Yu Cheng to return to Beijing as soon as possible after distributing the money and grain.
When Yu Cheng received the letter, he had just discussed the next epidemic prevention measures with the officials of Duanzhou.
This epidemic came with great force. Although we had taken precautions, the area was too wide and the vinegar water we had prepared was not enough. We could only organize doctors to boil medicine and distribute it everywhere.
However, there were too many people and the prepared medicine only lasted for a few days. The most important thing right now is to buy a large amount of medicine needed for the epidemic and recruit doctors.
Yu Cheng rubbed his forehead tiredly after reading the empress's letter, frowned and thought for a moment, then picked up a pen to write a reply.
By the way, he wrote a report to the court.
He asked for money and people.
The original one million silvers were not enough.
However, there were imperial doctors in the Imperial Hospital who were good at treating epidemic diseases, and Duanzhou urgently needed them. After
Yu Cheng finished writing the report, he handed it to the messenger to send it back to the capital together with the reply to the empress.
Three days later, Zhou Boxu arrived in Duanzhou with the second batch of money and food.
Yu Cheng was not in the official residence, as he went to inspect the situation of the disaster victims with local officials.
It was not until the evening that Yu Cheng came back with a frown on his face. When he learned that Zhou Boxu had arrived, his face lit up with joy.
The first batch of money and food that Yu Cheng brought had been used up, and now he was waiting for the second batch of emergency relief escorted by Zhou Boxu.
"Your Highness." Zhou Boxu greeted him respectfully.
Yu Cheng said from a distance: "I just came back from outside. Wait for me to take a shower and change clothes."
It is better to be troublesome than to be careless. It
was dark when Yu Cheng finished washing. After dinner with Zhou Boxu, he summoned all officials to discuss matters.
Zhou Boxu followed Yu Cheng into the house and smelled the smoke produced by burning medicinal materials.
An official said, "This is grounding Atractylodes lancea and red dates into powder and burning them to prevent and treat diseases."
Zhou Boxu nodded and sat down next to Yu Cheng. After
everyone sat down, the officials began to report.
"Based on the observations of the past few days, the medicinal soup and incense can effectively control the disease, but the amount required is too large, and there is no medicine to buy in the surrounding towns." "
There are many victims in this disaster. The amount of medicine purchased from drug dealers is small and the price is high. The best way is to go directly to Dapan City to buy it."
Dapan City is rich in medicinal materials and has the reputation of being the hometown of medicinal materials. Going directly to the production area to buy can not only meet the needs, but also save a lot of money.
"How long does it take to go from Duanzhou to Dapan?" Yu Cheng asked.
Someone said, "About ten days, plus the time needed to buy medicine, it will take at least fifteen days."
"But the herbs we have now can only last for ten days at most."
During these ten days, the dregs of the herbs have to be boiled repeatedly to barely be enough.
Yu Cheng frowned after hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Split the troops into two groups, one to Da Pan City, and the other to the nearest Yun City to buy a batch of emergency supplies."
"Who should be sent to Da Pan City?"
The mission to Dapan City is arduous, and the money to be carried is large. In addition, the team has to deal with local officials and drug dealers, so a reliable, intelligent, and high-ranking person is needed.
Among the people present, Yu Cheng, Zhou Boxu, and the prefect have the highest official positions.
However, the prefect is familiar with the affairs of Duanzhou. If he goes to Dapan City, it will be inconvenient to handle the affairs of Duanzhou. Yu Cheng is the backbone, and all decisions must be made by him, so he cannot go.
After thinking about it, Zhou Boxu is the most suitable.
However, Yu Cheng knows that Zhou Boxu and Yu Lan will get married next month, and they cannot stay in Duanzhou for a long time, so he is hesitant.
There was silence in the room for a moment, and Zhou Boxu said in a serious voice: "I will go."
The people are in danger, and as a minister of Dazhao, it is his duty.
It is now the fourth day of May, and there is still a month before the sixth day of June, which is enough time to go to Dapan City.
"If you are responsible, then I'll leave it to you." Yu Cheng's face was full of satisfaction and admiration.
He was relieved that Zhou Boxu was going.
"Yes." Zhou Boxu responded calmly.
The discussion lasted until late at night, and after all the matters were settled, everyone went back to rest.
At dawn, everyone had to do their job and get involved in the tough battle.
The next morning, just after dawn, Zhou Boxu was ready to go, and Yu Cheng saw him off in person.
"Be careful on the road." Yu Cheng patted Zhou Boxu on the shoulder and warned.
There are many mountain roads on the way to Dapan City, and there must be bandits. Zhou Boxu brought 200,000 taels of silver, and he would definitely be targeted and intercepted.
There can be no mistakes with people and money. Otherwise, he would have no face to return to Beijing to face Yu Lan, nor would he have the face to face the people of Duanzhou.